Euro 2016 Preview Series: Turkey

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Turkey are back in the European Championships for only the fourth time in their history. Coach Fatih Terim led them to the semi-finals in Austria and Switzerland eight years ago, setting this new team a high standard to emulate. Their stars play at Europe's top clubs, so they have the quality and experience to do well at Euro 2016.

FIFA World Ranking - 18th

Euro 2012 - Did not qualify

FIFA World Cup 2014 - Did not qualify

Players to watch - Arda Turan, Hakan Calhanoglu, Oguzhan Ozyakup

Overview

Once upon a time Turkish football was an also-ran on the European stage. The national team never reached the big tournaments and could not cope with away-game pressures, and the clubs had plenty of domestic history but little else.

Then, over two decades, everything changed. Now there are no 'easy' matches against Turkish teams, while clubs such as Galatasaray and Fenerbahce - situated on opposite sides of the Bosphorus - boast magnificent training complexes and passionate support.

The progress made in Turkish football can be seen in two regards. European superstars such as Robin van Persie, Lukas Podolski and Wesley Sneijder have plied their trade for Turkish clubs in recent years, highlighting the growth of the game in Turkey. Also, the performances of the national team show vast improvement from the poor standards set in the 20th century. They appeared at the European Championships for the first time in 1996, reached the quarter-finals in 2000 and then the semi-finals at both the 2002 FIFA World Cup and, subsequently, at Euro 2008.

Lukas Podolski and Wesley Sneijder are two of Turkish football's biggest imports.

Their coach in 2008, Fatih Terim, regained the helm in 2013 following the team's failure to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. His task was a challenging one: to qualify from a group that also included the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and rapidly improving Iceland.

Turkey made a disappointing start, losing 3-0 to Iceland in Reykjavik, but home and away wins against Kazakhstan, plus a 1-1 draw away to the Dutch, thanks to a vital goal from Burak Yilmaz, kept them in the hunt.

The key result, however, was in September 2015, when the Turks entertained the Netherlands at Konya and raced into a 2-0 lead inside 30 minutes before winning 3-0. In a dramatic last round of matches, Turkey defeated already qualified Iceland to snatch third place in the group and their ticket to France.

By this time Terim established a settled team, from Volkan Babacan in goal to experienced Gokhan Gonul at right-back and on to Barcelona winger Arda Turan and newcomer Hakan Calhanoglu in midfield in support of Yilmaz, who led the scoring in qualifying with four. After an impressive season with Besiktas, 22-year-old Oguzhan Ozyakup will also be hoping to put himself in the shop window for big clubs in Europe.

Verdict

I think Turkey will advance as one of the best third-placed sides in the changed format of this year's competition. However, their low finish in the group stages would see them tasked with upsetting one of the big favourites for the competition, and I don't see enough quality throughout the side to make that a reality.